Gotta Have Faith
by Kate Kaboom
Summary: This is strictly AU. Connor was never taken away, Groo never even bothered to be in the picture and Miss Faith is out of prison. Gooberness ensues. Faith/Wes C/A undertones.
1. Default Chapter

Note - I am in no way affiliated with Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy or anyone else owning these characters. This is merely a girl's fantasy.   
This is strictly AU. Connor was never taken away, Groo never even bothered to be in the picture and Miss Faith is back from prison. Gooberness ensues. Faith/Wes C/A undertones. 

  
Wesley Wyndham Pryce sat up in bed at precisely 4:13 AM, sweat glistened on his torso as his chest heaved up and down. He most definitely did not have a sex dream about Faith... or had he? Leaving his glasses sitting on the bedside table, he stumbled into the bathroom. Turning on the cold water, he let it run for a minute or so before letting it pool into his hands. He leaned down, splashing the cool water against his face. 

Finished with the water, he stood back up and stared at the lone reflection in the mirror, his father stared back at him with a dismayed look, shaking his head in disappointment, "Bloody pathetic." Blinking, the apparition disappeared .. leaving in it's wake an enraged young man. He was pathetic. He was everything his father was not, including a watcher. Thanks to his lovely jailbird... his thoughts ran back to Faith. He knew it wasn't all her fault, he could have stood up to her like a man ought to do .. or kill her. He sighed, walking back into his bedroom, pulling the covers up to his chest. Staring up at the ceiling, he could faintly smell lilacs. 

Lilacs.. that was the last thing he could remember before sleep descended. 

  
-- Afternoon, Hyperion Hotel -- 

  
Wesley stepped inside the Hyperion which seemed eerily quiet, he surveyed the room and found nothing of particular interest. "Hmmm.." 

"Yo English, I'm taking lunch orders. Deli up the street, want anything?" Gunn asked as he came from behind the lobby desk. A smile as he looked down at Fred's tuna sandwich on rye before he looked back up to Wesley. 

Wesley shook his head, pushing past Gunn to his office. He nearly slammed the door behind him, looking over to his desk. The chair swung around as Faith smiled. She placed her hands together in mock prayer as her feet slid up to his desk, tilting the chair back. Oh and one more thing.. she was naked. Wesley pulled at his tie which seemed to be knotted too tightly around his neck at that moment. As he opened his mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door he was leaning against. Faith's lips curled into a feline smile as she waggled a couple fingers. He blinked and she was gone. Damn him and his blinking! He was going to have to learn to keep his eyes wide open. "You sure?" Gunn asked from the other side of the door. 

Wesley ripped the door open, nodding. "Quite sure, thank you." 

"You okay?" 

Wesley nodded once again, "Quite. Thank you." 

As Gunn went in search of Cordelia, Wesley turned back around. Frowning slightly at the sight of an empty chair. He walked over and sat down, even went as far as swiveling around in the chair. 

"New game?" Cordelia stood in front of him, hands on her hips as she watched. He smiled, he must have looked like he lost his marbles. "Err, no. Thought a screw was loose. Any new visions?" 

"Yeah, a screw loose. No 'Hi Cordelia, how are you today?' Sheesh and no." 

"Forgive my insensitivity, how are you Cordelia?" 

She shrugged, walking over to a chair. Her body slumped down onto it, stretching out. Wesley had resumed swinging the chair around, kneeling onto the floor, he checked under his desk. Cordy's eyebrows raised slightly, "Are you okay?" 

"What?" He said, careful not to slam his head against the desktop. His eyes peeked over the top of the desk at her. "Fine, fine. Why is it that everyone is asking me that very same question today?" 

She snorted, "I wonder why. Lemme think. You're swinging your chair around, rolling around on the floor and.. you're weird." She stood up and walked over to his door. Leaving it open as she jetted out and up the stairs to Angel's room. 

Feeling defeated, he picked himself up off of the floor. 

"Looking for me?" she asked, lounging on one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. This time she was fully clothed in an orange jump suit. The 'Hi I'm a murderer!' jump suit. She reached over, grabbing a pen from his desk. Leaning back, she clicked it open and shut. Wesley sat back in his chair, watching her. 

"Perhaps." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Angel?" Cordelia asked with a little bit of uncertainty shining through in her voice. She didn't even bother to knock on his door anymore, just barged right on in. 

"Yeah?" He answered from the bathroom. Here's the part where you, me and Cordelia get to fantasize. Angel stood in front of the mirror, of all places. The towel hung low around his waist as he continued to play around with his hair. It was the best part of his appearance after all.. right? Cordelia peeked in, her mouth hung open from when she started her sentence.. but for some reason, a very hunky reason she couldn't remember to finish. 

Angel continued to push his hair from side to side, primming like the big girl he really was. That snapped Cordelia out of it, "Wesley's acting strange." 

"Again?" 

"Again? Has he acted strange before?" 

"Well yeah, all the time. He is British yanno." 

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "No. I mean he's acting like 'Hi, I'm guilty of something' kind of strange... " And again, her eyes shifted over his body. He really was a big guy.. he was sexy and he had that smile, the one only she sees.. she bit down on her lower lip in thought. 

"Cordy?" Angel was staring at her now, waiting for her to move out of the doorway. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Perhaps?" That smile that seemed so evil it had to be an entity all on it's own found it's way to her face. It gave him chills right down to his toes. That night on the roof her smile made it's appearance after each new trail of blood appeared, last night before he attacked her lips, it appeared and even now. It was unnerving, causing him to squirm in his chair. 

She stood, walking around his desk. Curvaceous hips swayed dangerously towards him as he swung to the side, waiting for her. She slid down into his lap, snaking her arm around his shoulder as she moved to just the right spot. She leaned against him, cupping her hand around his ear, in a whisper, "Sure about that?" 

He squeaked. How unmanly could one be? All you have to do is squeak to find out. 

His hands slipped to her hips, pulling her closer to him. Those vampy red fingernails of hers raked over his cheek gently, she knew what he liked. He inhaled softly, tilting his head back against the chair. "Faith.. " 

Fred knocked softly on the door, "Faith?" 

"What?" Wesley looked to the door, horrified is the only thing that would probably do as an expression written clear on his face. 

"You said faith. Should I come back?" She asked, shyly at that. She had already started to inch towards the other side of the door frame. 

"No, no. Well yes, faith. We've got to have faith!" He exclaimed, almost a little too loudly as he rushed out of his seat and grabbed a book from the bookcase. She was sitting right in his lap, he felt her weight against his body. 

"Gunn's back. Do you want half of my tuna sandwich?" The southern twang was adorable at times, but not when he was trying to think of other.. more dark and sinister things. 

"No thank you. Enjoy your lunch." He threw a smile over his shoulder to her, hoping that would give her a dismissal and felt guilty when he realized what he was doing - sending them all away so his visualizations of a criminal could continue. 'Who's the criminal now, Wes?' he could hear her saying. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Wha?" She felt disoriented for a second, then realized he was standing there watching her, he probably knew she was thinking about him.. in the most compromising of positions. She turned away, cheeks flushing as she went over to the baby's crib. Smiling down, she smoothed the child's hair away from his face. 

"Maybe it's contagious." 

Cordelia stood up, turning around to watch Angel's back as he sat on edge of the bed, pulling up a pair of silky black boxers. "Maybe what's contagious?" 

"Wesley's strange." Now standing, he chuckled as he turned back around to find her facing him. She snorted at him, hopping onto his bed and placing her arms behind her head. "I am so not strange and you know it." She continued to watch him, admire him. Him as in her best friend, those were bad thoughts. He sunk down onto the bed next to her, not bothering to put on anymore clothing than he already had on. "Of course not dear." 

"Whatever." She slapped at his arm playfully. Growing a bit more serious, he grabbed her wrists, yanking her body against his. As she yelped, that was the baby's cue to start crying. She leaned her head down on his chest, closing her eyes for a moment. This could be nice. Removing herself from his hands, she walked over to the crib, bending down to smile. "Hi Connor, how's my baby doing today? Hi sweety." She picked the baby up, holding him against her body. 

Angel never envied his son so much as he did now. 

"He needs a bottle." 

Angel got up and headed for the door as Cordelia cleared her throat. 

"What?" 

"Oh I don't know, Tarzan much?" 

He sheepishly looked down to his body. "Clothes, right." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
'This is wrong on so many levels, why would I indulge in something like this?' Wesley rubbed his forehead for what seemed like the millionth time that evening as he stared down at the book in front of him. Flip, flip, flipping through the pages. He began flipping so fast, a few tore. "Lovely." 

Leaning against his door frame this time, she knocked gently. A smirk riding on her pale lips, "Hey Wes." 

"Bloody hell, are you ever going to leave me alone?" He raced over to her, entangling his fingers into her hair as he pulled her closer, his blue orbs staring into her almost timid brown orbs. The scent of lilacs invaded his senses just before he crushed his lips against hers. It took her a couple of seconds to understand what was happening, when it finally hit her, she darted her tongue out over his lips.. this was more like it. Every girl should be greeted like this fresh from prison! 

"Uhm, Wesley?" Damn that Fred! She looked over Faith's shoulder at him. 

Wesley pulled back, a groan as he did. He blinked. Again. And again. "Faith?" 

"Yep." She nodded, her hands rubbed together awkwardly as she averted her attention to the new addition. 

"Faith?" 

"Didn't we establish that? Earth to Watch.. " she stopped herself short. "Earth to non-watcher man." 

Wesley's hand slammed against his mouth, "Oh my.. " He turned away from them, his tongue running out over his lips. He could taste her, he could smell her and he certainly wasn't alone in seeing her. 

"Is everything alright in here?" Fred's twang was beginning to annoy him. 

"Looked like it to me." Gunn answered with a grin from behind her. 

  
TBC.. 


	2. Landslides, Slime and Mandy

Wesley took a moment to gain control of himself before he turned back around to face a newly shy Faith, he watched as her fingertips slipped to her lips. "Faith, what are you doing here?" His eyes shifted down over her form, her supple and curvaceous form. His thoughts, which were leading back to his dream the previous morning, were beginning to annoy him quite a bit. 

"Well hi to you too Wes. Is Angel around?" She still wouldn't raise her eyes to meet with his, her cheeks were even beginning to redden. 

Fred had slipped out of the room, leaving the two alone. She figured it would be better for Angel to know Faith was here if what Cordelia told her was true about the girl. 

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here first?" His voice, now took on an irritated tone. 

Defiance pushed any thoughts of shyness out of her mind as she lifted her eyes to meet with his. "I think I liked your first greeting better." With that, she leaned down and picked up her duffel bag. Standing back up, she gave him a hint of that smile she was so feared for and left. Slamming the door behind her as she left. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Fred knocked gently on the door. "Uhm.. Angel?" 

"Yeah?" He asked, swinging the door open. 

Fred shuffled from foot to foot, "Faith is downstairs." 

Angel closed his eyes and nodded, he knew what was about to come. 

"Faith is what?" Cordelia asked. 

"Uhm, she's downstairs with Charles and Wesley." Fred hurried down the hallway and to the stairs before any more of the conversation took place in front of her. Cordelia could be very scary when she was angry. 

"Faith is here?" She nearly shrieked, her arms wrapped possessively around the baby, pulling him closer to her body. 

"I didn't think she would be out this soon... " Angel began, turning to face her. 

"What do you mean you didn't think she would be out this soon? You've been keeping tabs on her? On her of all people?" The baby was beginning to grow restless, hunger lead to crankiness and finally the screams commenced. 

"Cordy, don't overreact." 

"Don't overreact? Okay, let me think about this logically. Hmm, she knocked me out, tortured Wesley and almost killed you." She walked past him quickly and made her way to the stairs, the baby crying in her arms as she stomped down the stairs. Glaring at Faith, she made her way to the kitchen. As she opened the fridge, she looked down to the baby, softening. "Shh, shh.. it's okay. Is Connor hungry? Num nums?" She pulled a bottle out of the fridge and walked over to the microwave. 

"Daddy's gonna get yelled at. Oh yes he is." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Faith's nose wrinkled as she saw Cordelia walk past, Queen C with an attitude. Some things never change. What surprised her was the baby in her arms and Angel running down after her. Oddly enough, they resembled an old married couple. 

He smiled to Faith, walking over to her. "Faith, I'd love to talk, but I'll be right back." 

She nodded, still standing outside of Wesley's door. Fred, who grabbed Gunn's arm was pulling him upstairs. "Come on, everyone is angry." 

"More reason to watch." He was being stubborn, arms crossing as he watched Faith. 

"Charles." Already he felt defeated, his boys would call him whipped if they could see him now, taking orders from a petite country gal. 

  
----- ----- -----   


Wesley paced back and forth. He kissed, he really kissed her. She was probably disgusted with his actions. .. yet she didn't pull back, if anything she fully welcomed it. He groaned, pulling his glasses off. "I really am pathetic." He walked over to the door and opened it to find Faith's backside greeting him. And what a nice backside it was. He mentally smacked his hand for continuing to stare. 

She didn't move. If he wanted her to move, he was going to have to ask nicely! 

"Faith?" His voice, barely above a whisper, sounded his insecurities about her being present. 

"What?" She crossed her arms, folding them against her chest. After all, she had to at least look like she was the same old Faith. 

"Why were you released so early?" 

"Would you believe me if I said good behavior?" 

He chuckled, "Hardly." 

Her arms fell to her sides as she twirled around to look at him. All the emotions she was so afraid to express were on the tip of her tongue, ready to lash out at him. Instead, she choose the easiest way out, act defensive and not hurt, "Fuck you." The look in her eyes said otherwise. 

"No Faith, wait. What I meant to say is, why would they let an animal like you loose, to prey on innocent people?" He sneered, actually sneered. 'I hope those words cut as deeply as the glass games on the rooftop.' He stopped sneering when he saw her face.. falter. Her lower lip was trembling and tears, he could see actual tears brimming her eyes. No.. that was not supposed to happen! She was supposed to threaten him. He looked down, ashamed of himself. "Faith.. I.." 

  
----- ----- -----   


"Damn it Cordelia, she needs someone to give her a chance. She has nowhere else to go." 

Cordelia glared at him as she fed Connor. The baby drank hungrily, making noises as each new gulp was taken. She looked down to the child in her arms and smiled. She knew he was right and sighed in defeat, "Well don't expect me to be buddy buddy with her." 

Angel smiled, she could be such a push-over. He moved in for the kill, sliding his arms around her waist, pulling his family closer together. She in turn, rolled her eyes. Angel leaned down, kissing the child's forehead gently. "I gotta go talk to her." 

"Still should have told me." 

"I still should have told you. I know." 

As Angel left for the lobby, Cordelia stayed in the kitchen feeding the child in her arms. The child she had grown to love so much after only a few short months. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Angel walked in to find Faith sitting on the sofa, face buried in her hands. His brows raised as he looked over to Wesley who was stammering. "Faith?" 

She looked up at the sound of Angel's voice. Embarrassed, she wiped at her eyes, rubbing them till they were red. 

"Everything alright out here?" 

Wesley was dumbfounded, he wanted to apologize but nothing came out. 

"Fine." Faith stood up, walking towards Wesley, who immediately tensed. She stopped in front of him and picked up her duffel bag. "I need to clean up." She became visibly shakey the closer to Wesley she got. 

Angel shot a glare over to Wesley, then looked back down to Faith. He was amazed at how much she had changed, she looked softer now. "You have the whole third floor to yourself." He smiled, as if that would make it all better. 

"Thanks. So uh.. Buff's alive again? That's us slayers, we just keep on ticking." She gave a soft chuckle, which had no real heart behind in. 

In the meantime, Wesley still stammered out in the main lobby. 'That was awful. I feel like a monster.' He sighed softly to himself. She had done her time and was out on good behaviour, of course she was. 

Cordelia walked into the lobby, baby and bottle in tow. She watched as Wesley pieced things together for himself before disappearing into his office. "Wesley's a nut, oh yes he is! Yes he is." She made faces down at the baby who was trying to smile behind the bottle. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Faith sat down on the bed, it was a little dusty.. but it would do for now. She looked around the room, it was drab. She hadn't expected a welcome wagon, maybe something a little better. But then, why would she receive anything other than the cold shoulder from these people? If not worse.. 

"You're out." 

Faith nodded as she looked up to Angel. Yeah, awkward silence. "So.. " 

"Are you alright? It's the question du jour around here." 

"I'm fine." At this point Angel knew everything was not fine, because when a female tells you that after some type of situation.. she really is not fine, but wants to be left alone. "Angel?" 

"Yeah?" 

"They don't want me here, I can go." 

"Are you kidding? Of course they want you here." 

"I can tell you're lying." 

"Just give them time to adjust, that's all I'm asking for. I'll introduce you to Fred and Gunn. Lorne too. How's your singing voice?" Angel asked, his dimples making their first appearance of the evening as he smirked. 

"My singing voice?" She asked, perplexed. 

"Yep, singing voice." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
The lobby seemed a good place as any to have a bit of kareoke. Fred, Gunn and Wesley sat on a circular sofa watching Faith as Angel stood behind Lorne, waiting for the verdict to be passed down. Cordelia sat on the bottom two steps, keeping an ear open for the baby as she waited for Faith's humiliation to begin. 

"You want me to sing? Nuh uh. This is crazy. Crazy." Everyone remained quiet as they waited for her to begin. "No. No. I don't even.. " 

Lorne was beginning to grow tired of this, "Look Sugar Baby, I can't read you unless you sing and these guys really want me to read you. So sing, for them." 

She resigned herself to the fact that it wasn't going to be any easier on her if she passed this up, so she began. 

"I took my love, I took it down  
Climbed a mountain and I turned around  
I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills  
The landslide brought me down." 

She stopped, but Lorne waved his hand, bringing her further along. The funny thing about it was, she didn't suck as much as they thought. In all reality, her voice had a raspy sweetness to it. 

"Oh, mirror in the sky  
What is love  
Can the child within my heart rise above  
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides  
Can I handle the seasons of my life"

Wesley held his breath as he watched her, she was absolutely stunning. But it wasn't her voice, it was her demeanor that caught his attention. Fred smiled, it was a nice choice of song. Gunn waited in silence. Lorne smiled, this songbird wasn't giving off any negative vibes of any kind. 

"Okay Tweety, that's enough. No problems here, none that should be voiced at the moment. You and me are going to have to talk later." He winked at her. 

"So, he can read me.. by singing? That sucks, what if the person can't sing?" 

Angel crossed his arms as everyone's eyes fell on him. Faith laughed, actually laughed for the first time in a very long time. 

"Ugh, he sings the worst songs!" Cordelia said as she walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

"I do not." 

Gunn coughed, "Mandy." 

"Ramblin Man." Cordelia smirked. 

"Toora Loora." 

"Aww Fred, not you too. You guys are killing me." Angel shook his head in mock disappointment, he couldn't help it if he had a horrible singing voice. He certainly did like to sing though. 

"Wait a minute, so you've all sang?" Faith asked as she looked from face to face, receiving confirmation from each until she reached Wesley, whom took that moment to give more of a look of apology then an answer. 

Cordelia placed her hand on her face, her thumb resting against her cheek as her fingers went to her forehead. "Uhm guys.. I'm having a vision." 

Angel turned, wrapped his arms around her body possessively. Faith didn't look too confused, as Angel had explained about the visions somewhat in between visits. 

"What do you see?" His fingertips, soft and feathery against her face as he pushed her hair back. 

"Tall guy, slimy. Really slimy. Sonoma Drive." 

Wesley went over to the cabinet holding all the weapons. Faith was torn between watching Angel and Cordelia's interactions and Wesley.. being so masculine. Gunn followed after Wesley, taking a very shiny axe down. Wesley decided to go with the crossbow. Faith would have done the same, knowing that gave her a little bit of satisfaction. Maybe her former watcher did rub off on her somewhat. It was rather satisfying to watch him act so manly, unlike the bookish geek she once knew. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Cordelia, Faith and Lorne had stayed behind. While Lorne tended to his favorite job, which was babysitting, Cordelia took the chance to lay down some ground rules with Faith. 

"So, your out of prison." 

"Yep." she said as she handed Cordelia a glass of water. 

"Well just so you know, we're not going to put up with a repeat performance." 

Faith only nodded, the counselor in prison had told her if she had nothing nice she could say or do, just smile and nod. In all reality, there were two Faith's pulling at her. She hated to say she had a good and an evil Faith, but she did. The evil Faith was telling her to punch the bitch in her face, while the good Faith was telling her to count to ten, no need for all the aggression. 

  
----- ----- -----   


An hour later, Wesley and Fred walked in the door. Angel and Gunn followed behind them at a distance. Drenched in slime. 

"I swear to God, he was wearing all leather!" The two girls who remained behind were laughing so hard, tears came to their eyes. Fred and Gunn didn't understand why this was truly a unique sight to see, but Wesley and Angel did. Which left them to wonder which of the two they were talking about. 

"Yuck, that stuffs disgusting." Faith said as she stood, watching the slime drip from Gunn's chin and fall to the floor. 

Angel looked annoyed. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling back a handful of slime. Yep, spend a little time doing your hair when you wake up and look what happens? 

"How'd everything go? Is everyone okay?" Cordelia asked, she too now standing. 


	3. Carnies, Cotton Candy and Bob

Faith woke up between pink cotton sheets, stretching her body from the left to right. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked down at the sheets.. why did Cordelia have to buy pink? She shook her head in bewilderment, Cordelia sure did change a lot since they last met. She slipped out from under the sheets, placing her feet on the carpeted floor. She was alone, she was always alone. Her philosophy in life? 'Do for yourself and only for yourself, because nobody else will be there.' She pushed the thought of selfishness away, she was changed after all. 

Ready to move off the bed, her eyes shifted to the floor to a big present. Left brow arching, she leaned down and poked it. "Lotta good that's gonna do you." Evil Faith had popped up onto her shoulder again. Evil Faith, was what she formerly was.. evil. Black and leather and that vampy look, no not the actual bloodsucker look - but makeup. "Why don't you open it?" Good Faith asked, sitting on her right shoulder. Good Faith was a lot less.. loud. She wore jeans and a white tank top, her makeup was softer, lips a pale shade. 

"They're gonna send me to the looney bin if you two don't leave me alone." She leaned over, picking up the box and placing it on the bed in front of her. She sat with her legs crossed indian style in front of it. The wrapping paper, a metallic red shined as if to say, 'Rip me open!' ... She began pulling the paper off when a small envelope caught her attention, ripping it off the box, she pulled the card from the envelope. 

"Dearest Faith,   
I do wish to apologize for my barbaric behaviour yesterday, it was wrong of me and I do hope you are not so quick to judge me as I did you. Also, I came across these and thought they might come in handy.  
Sincerely,   
Wesley"

Faith's brows arched. Wesley? Shrugging, she pulled the rest of the wrapping paper off and quickly tore open the box. A hint of silver gleamed up at her as she peered in. "Whoa." She pulled out one of the two silver arm blades. And they attached! She immediately began putting them on. Testing them, she swung them from side to side. She ran over to the door and out into the hallway. Running down the hallway to the main stairs, she ran down three flights without stopping. 

"Elephants have made less noise." Cordelia said as she waited for the girl to appear. 

"Indeed." Wesley agreed with her, he tried to hold back the smile as he watched Faith spring into the middle of the lobby showing off her new arm blades. 

"How fucking cool are these?" She asked to no one in particular as she continued swinging them around. Wesley emerged from behind the lobby desk, a satisfied smile playing his lips, "I take it you like them?" 

"Are you kidding? Look at them!" She ran over to him, slamming her arms around him. Then she had a flashback of a movie she saw while she was in prison - Edward Scissorhands. She pulled back slowly, hoping she didn't hurt him. "Sorry." As she looked up into his eyes, she pulled away from him completely. 

"Oh no, by all means - don't apologize." 

"I didn't hurt you did I?" 

Wesley flinched, hurt.. No, not hurt this time. He shook his head. "Not at all." 

"Good. Thank you so much, I promise to put them to good use." 

Cordelia walked over to the two, she inspected the blades and looked up to Wesley, "Scary much?" 

"You don't know a good thing when you see it." Faith chimed in. 

Gunn opened the front door, waiting for Fred to pass through. She walked in smiling, "Hey ya'll guess what!" 

"What?" Cordelia asked as she stepped back. 

"There's a carnival two blocks away! Gunn and I were gonna go if Cordy didn't have any visions tonight.. " Both Fred and Gunn looked over at Cordelia, waiting for confirmation. Cordelia smiled at the two, at least they were able to have a semi-normal relationship. 

"No vision girl tonight." 

"A carnival? Beware the carnies." Wesley said as he headed towards his office, he was feeling a bit playful himself. 

"Well I was wondering if ya'll wanted to come along?" 

"Count me in." Faith said, she tried to remember the last time she had actually been to a carnival.. she had to be about fourteen years old. Gunn stared at the arm blades, his brows raising. "Baby girl, you can leave the blades at home." She smirked, the thought of wearing them out in public to a carnival was a little ridiculous. 

"I'm probably in, let me go ask Angel if he'll go." Cordelia said, heading for the stairs with Faith following her up to change out of her pajamas and blades. 

Fred looked over to Wesley, who seemed to be battling over whether he should go or not. "Wesley?" 

He looked over to Fred, then Gunn. 

"Your girl's gonna be there." 

Wesley crossed his arms, "She most certainly is not my girl!" His thoughts led to the lot of them having a good time without him, then his thoughts turned to Faith and to someone flirting with her. He was her watcher at one time, it wouldn't hurt to watch out for her.. "I'll go." 

Faith in the meantime had rushed up the stairs, pulling off her arm blades and placing them on the bed carefully. She smiled, it was already starting off to be a good night. She went over to the mahogany dresser, not realizing she pulled out a pair of jeans and white tank top. She pulled the jeans on over her curvy hips and looked at herself in the mirror. "A bra would be nice." She rummaged through the first drawer, pulling out a black satin bra. After slipping the bra and tank top on, she turned in the mirror. "Is my ass getting bigger?" She pouted. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Cordy, no." 

"But Angel.. " she was pouting now. Her head tilted slightly to the side, she knew from previous experience just what to do to make Angel cave. "Please.. it would mean a lot to me. We could get out of the hotel and be alone." 

"With four other people?" 

"Who said we had to be with them the whole time?" She slid her fingertips up to his face, the skin underneath her touch tingled. He smiled, yep.. he was about to cave in. Cordelia would pull out the big guns if necessary.. Her eyes slid down over his face to his lips, biting on the inside of her own lower lip. 

"Alright." 

She smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a hug. He buried his face in her neck, her hair and her scent. So uniquely Cordelia, plumeria. Thanks to the Bath and Body Works gift certificate she received from him for Christmas.. he'd have to remember to get her another amongst other things. 

"I'll go tell Fred and Gunn to wait up for us." She said, trying to extricate herself from his grasp, the more she struggled with him, the tighter his arms around her became. 

"Angel?" 

His lips were close to her ear.. she could have swore he was purring. "Mine." He whispered into her ear before loosening his grip on her. She hated to admit it, but her whole body flushed from that one word. He said it so possessively. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
After she had slid her boots on, Faith made her way downstairs. Wesley couldn't pry his eyes off her if he had wanted to. She was so soft, so.. feminine. While she was most definitely feminine before, there was a softness about her now. She didn't have that hard edge to her. Her brown tresses fell a little past her shoulder and down her back. 

Fred smiled over to her, Faith wasn't so bad. She cussed a lot, but she seemed nice. 

"English." Gunn called over to Wesley, who reluctantly pulled his eyes away from Faith. Gunn faced the door, pointing with his thumb towards Faith and mouthing, "Your girl." Wesley really did hate to be teased, he rolled his eyes before looking back over to Faith. 

Cordelia came running down after Faith. "Alright, Lorne is watching the baby tonight. Watch out carnies, here we come!" Angel followed behind Cordelia at a much slower pace, a shy smile on his face. "Yanno, most carnies are gypsies." He nodded softly, as if that small piece of information would be enough to stop them from going. 

Walking at a leisure pace, Gunn and Fred automatically took the lead, with Cordelia and Angel behind them.. which left Faith and Wesley in the rear to walk together. Wesley silently questioned if this had been done purposely. Every now and again Faith would steal a look over to Wesley. "I really like the arm blades. They're really cool." 

"Do you? I'm glad. When I seen them, I thought of you." He smiled, he didn't want to say too little or too much. She smirked slightly, he thought of her.. granted it was when he was buying a weapon.. but he had thought of her. 

"Thank you very much, I appreciate them. I just can't wait to try them out." 

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. Training I mean, did you have time to train while in prison or.. " He stopped as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, she was visibly becoming upset, which in turn made him upset. She never showed her emotion, that's what made her so dangerous. 

"I've kept it up. In prison you either find a hobby or become someone's hobby." 

"This is going to be so much fun!" Fred shouted back as she entered through the park's gates. Angel wearily looked over the flashing neon lights and rides. 

"Ooo a ferris wheel!" Cordelia exclaimed, she now too becoming excited. She snaked her arm through Angel's, dragging him over to the ticket box. Gunn and Fred went off in search of the midway, with Fred hoping for big winnings. 

Wesley stood behind Angel, waiting to purchase tickets. "Any particular rides?" 

"All of them if I can help it." Faith smiled back at him. 

"Oh my. You are quite brave you know. They put these rides up in less than five minutes in pouring down rain and they're supposed to be safe." 

"Oh come on. Don't be such a wuss." 

"I'm not a wuss. I just don't think these rides are safe, that's all." 

She looked over to him, which stopped any further protests. Wesley paid for the tickets, following Angel and Cordelia. "Hows a bout we beat you suckers at bumper cars?" Wesley looked over to Faith, amused. 

"Is that a challenge?" Angel questioned, a huge grin now riding his lips. 

"What else would it be?" Wesley answered for her. 

Cordelia looked both Wesley and Faith over. "Bring it on." 

They stood in line behind a couple of twelve year olds who each excitedly claimed to go after the other and what color car they were gonna get. Angel listened intently, smiling at their excitement, Cordelia leaning her head against his shoulder as she waited patiently. 

"So what's the deal with them?" Curiosity had gotten the better of Faith. 

Wesley leaned in, whispering into her ear, "They're in love and everyone but them know it." 

"Oh.." Was the last thing Faith said before rushing through the gate and into a blue bumper car. With everyone finally seated, the carnie started the ride. Faith winked over at Wesley then nodded her head in the direction of Angel and Cordelia. Wesley suppressed laughter as long as he could as he followed after her, slamming his car into Cordelia's car. 

"Hey!" Cordelia screamed, ramming back. Angel didn't have as much luck with his car. He just kind of went in circles, which caused the kids that stood in line in front of him to take notice. They decided to kick a guy while he was down and rammed into the front of his car, knocking it across the metal surface. Faith had decided to swing around to Wesley, bumping into his tail end. 

"I thought you were on my side!" 

Faith giggled, "Its every girl for herself." Wesley swung the small steering wheel around furiously, bumping back into her.. sending her across the metal surface and against a bunch of abandoned bumper cars. As she slammed into them, her head went flying back against the hard seat and this made her giggles turn into screams of laughter. She tried everything she could to push him back to be free, but it didn't seem to be working and to be honest, she didn't care. 

Fred spotted the other couples, waving furiously as Gunn walked up behind her with a giant stuffed rabbit. Fred held up a goldfish, pointing to it. Fred's smile was enough to make anyone break into a smile. 

As the round of bumper cars ended, Angel stepped out of his car and put on his best scary face sans bumpy ridges and fangs. "I'll get you next time!" They laughed at his empty threats, even pointing at him. 

"I'm not scary am I?" He asked as he waited for Cordelia to join him. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face. "Well.. you scare me?" She tried to sound hopeful.. but it dashed all his hopes of ever scaring children. 

"Tilt-a-Whirl!" Cordelia demanded, pulling Angel behind her. He smiled, this was normal right? He was doing normal things with normal people. It felt nice to have a night like that, even if it's just one night. 

"Look what Gunn won for me Faith!" Fred showed off her prize winning goldfish which would more than likely be dead in less than three days with pride. Normally Faith would have told her it was destined to meet with the toilet for the giant fish bowl in the sky, but she had a soft spot for the kid, she was sweet and innocent - how many times have you come across that in a person? 

"Did you name him yet?" 

Gunn came up behind Fred, slipping one arm around her shoulders as he held the giant stuffed rabbit in the other. "Bob. She named a goldfish Bob." 

Faith broke out in laughter. "Bob. It's so.. cute." 

Wesley walked slowly behind the group, his eyes shifting over his former slayer's jean clad ass. 'Naughty naughty.' He heard Faith saying, thankfully it was only his imagination. As he stepped up behind Faith in line, he turned his attention to the ride. He remembered this ride and how much he had hated it when he was younger. 

"Looks like you're the big prize winner today, huh?" Faith said as she looked to the giant rabbit hanging from Gunn's arm. 

Fred chuckled, "No, I won that." 

Wesley who had caught the end of the conversation began to chuckle himself. He was so close to Faith, she felt his chest with each bounce of laughter. She decided right then and there that it was something she liked, a lot. 

Each couple had their own cart, Wesley gripped the bar in front of him as he looked over the mechanics of the ride. "Wes, you alright?" 

"Fine, quite fine. I'm not too fond of this ride." 

She frowned slightly, "Why didn't you say something earlier? I would have waited with you while they got on." 

Wesley shrugged, embarrassment now seeping in. The ride started, Wesley pinning Faith against her side of the cart and trying (without luck) to pry his body off of hers, he might hurt her after all. She began screaming with laughter, holding on for dear life. Wesley joined her in laughter, no longer trying to pull himself off of her. 

Angel was intelligent enough to stay on the right of the cart, loving the fact that Cordelia was short of sitting in his lap from the twirling. Her laugh was music to his ears, he smiled over at her. When he finally got the courage up to say something to her, he tried shouting it over the loud music of the ride and other people's laughter. 

"What?" she screamed back to him. 

"You're beautiful!" He screamed back, only this time everyone on Tilt-a-Whirl could hear him, because the ride had stopped. This made Cordelia blush, which in turn would have made Angel blush.. but being a vampire he didn't have to worry about that. 

"Ya'll want to go on the ferris wheel?" Fred asked as she pointed up to it. Another two seater. 

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Wesley asked as he pulled his body from Faith's, regretfully to boot! 

"Nope, slayer strength." She smiled back to him before hopping out of the cart. 

The three couples (in all reality it was one couple, two friends in love and two friends refreshing their relationship with each other) headed over to the ferris wheel, immediately getting on. Angel slipped his arm around Cordelia, a big cheesy grin on his face. Gunn had to leave the giant rabbit in the care of a carnie before sinking down in the seat next to Fred. 

Which left only Faith and Wesley.. gosh. The ride neared the top and came to a halt, the carnival attendants letting people off and then reloading. Faith shivered slightly, L.A. or not.. it got cold at night. Wesley took notice and sighed, he was a gentleman. He slipped out of his jacket, ignoring her protests and placed it around her shoulders. She sunk down into it, inhaling softly. It smelled of him, soap, leather and Old Spice? Her brows raised slightly, she leaned forward to see how far up they were. Not quite at the top, but pretty high up. 

"Wes." 

"Faith.." he was being coy. 

"Can I say something without you interrupting me?" She thought this a good place as any to start apologizing, it wasn't like he could just leave. 

"Go ahead." 

"I did a lot of thinking in prison, and I do mean a lot. Every single day I thought about you and all the horrible things I did before turning myself in." She cringed inwardly, this was just.. ick. A sticky situation to be in. Her facade of a strong female in control was crumbling and quickly. Wesley had yet to look at her, and she couldn't get past the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry. I know it can't ever be enough, but I am. And you were right, an animal like me doesn't deserve to be out." That comment had hurt her feelings a little more than she'd like to admit, but she would never tell him that. 

Animal. His face twisted with anguish. "Faith.. you're not an animal. I acted childish and should have never said it. I'm.. sorry." He was apologizing to her? She shook her head, "No no, you don't understand. I am an animal. I did horrible things to you and Cordelia and Angel and even Buffy and Xander. I deserved it." She sighed, bringing her hands up to her eyes.. she was a horrible human being, if you could even call her that. 

"They were unspeakable. But all wounds heal eventually." Wesley placed his hand on back, rubbing gently. He hadn't forgiven her completely, but felt better knowing she was sorry. 

A weight had been lifted off her shoulders, "So, do you hate me?" 

"I bloody well did for a while, then I realized it's not your fault. I failed you as a Watcher." 

"What?" she asked, incredulously. 

"Indeed, I should have put my foot down somewhere along the road." 

"You've got to be kidding me. Is that what you British do?" 

"I'm sorry, I don't follow." his brows raised slightly. 

She stared up into his blue eyes, like she had imagined so many times in prison. "Blame yourself for everything! God!" He flinched as her voice grew more and more angry. 

"I would have been the same even if you tried to put your foot down, stop blaming yourself when you know damn well it was me all along." 

Wesley nodded softly, his body tense as he sat near her. 

Angel smiled as the ride began again, his eyes shifting over the glittering lights of the city. "You can see everything from up here." Cordelia pulled his arm from around her shoulders and into her lap, intertwining her fingers with his. 

"Thank you Angel." 

"For?" 

"Coming out, being my friend and buying me cotton candy when we get off?" 

He grinned, "Daddy's feeling like spending big tonight. You can have cotton candy and a candied apple." Cordelia rolled her eyes, laughing. He could be such a geek. 

"I'm sorry, I am trying my hand at being good. Really I am. It's just a lot harder than I thought it would be." Faith said as she looked down once again, the ferris wheel coming to a halt once again. "Did I leave scars?" she asked so quietly, it was barely audible. 

He swallowed before looking over to her. "Physically or emotionally?" 

Her face crinkled as she tried to fend off tears that seemed to escape out the corners of her eyes anyway. They slid down, leaving a trail down her cheek to gather under her chin. She should have done this on the ground where she could hide from him. 

His eyes shifted over her face slowly, he timidly reached a hand over to her face. The pad of his thumb rubbing the trail away, erasing it for fresh tears. "It made me a stronger person." Her hand slipped up to his, capturing it and holding it against her cheek. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually been touched by a man, by anyone. 

She whispered, "I'm so sorry." 

He nodded softly, whether she was looking or not. 

  
TBC.. Not really sure where this is going.. but I'm happy to keep it up. 


	4. Mr Tall, Bad Hair and Foreign

She smiled softly through the tears, his touch was shy but reflected no fear. She knew this day had to come, but on top of a ferris wheel? Repairing her relationship with Cordelia was easy, they hadn't truly known all that much about each other before the confrontation, just hear say from Buffy and the Scoobs.. Now Wesley, he was an entirely different story. Not only did she embarrass him for going all rogue, she was the reason he didn't work for the Watcher's Council any longer, something she knew he worked his entire life for. Then it hit her, maybe she could convince them (in one way or another) to take Wes back. 

"I can speak to the Watcher's Council if you want.." she began. He took his hand away from her, cutting her off. 

"Faith, that is something you don't want to do." 

"Well no, but.. " 

"You don't understand. If you contact them, they will send someone for you. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are a problem that remains unsolved to the Council and they wish to resolve all 'situations' at any cost." 

She leaned over the bar, staring down at the ground with an annoyed look. He was right and she knew it, she was an embarrassment to the Council and they had already tried taking her out before she went to prison. They were worse than the mafia. 

"Do you think they'll come after me?" 

He sighed, this had weighed heavily on him the last couple of days. He knew eventually they would send someone for her.. but when exactly would they is what he wanted to know. He looked over to her, she sat back snuggled into his jacket. The tears that previously ran down her cheeks were nearly dry. He looked at the scared little girl that was hidden to most, but came out screaming this evening. "I suppose that depends on Buffy." 

"B? What does she have to do wi.." She stopped herself short, realization hitting her like a freight train. If Buffy died (again), they would have to rely on her and she already proved ten fold she was not the candidate for the job. They would send someone to assassinate her so a new slayer could rise. 

"Shite." 

"You mean shit." 

"No I meant shite." He looked over at her, annoyed. He didn't need someone who hardly could speak the english language herself correcting him. Especially someone who wasn't able to complete a sentence without throwing in a profanity for good measure. 

As the ferris wheel came down to the ground, the bar was pulled open by a particularly scary looking fellow who had three of the five fingers on his left hand missing. Wesley suppressed the urge to cringe and run away. Faith slid her arms into his jacket, pulling it tightly around her body. They stepped away from the ride, waiting for the rest of their group to get off. Faith couldn't keep herself from staring up at his face. Finally Wesley looked down to her, "Yes?" 

She crooked her finger, telling him to 'come hither' .. being the ever obedient one, he leaned slightly down to her, feeling her fingertips barely touch his ear. Her voice, now a sullen tone as she whispered to him, "I'm sorry Wesley." And he knew she genuinely was. Shivers ran down his spine as neither of them bothered to pull away, he inhaled softly. Lilacs permeated his senses, rendering them useless.. well most of them anyway. Actually that would be completely wrong. His senses were working overload. His sight shifted down over her body, pausing at her supple chest and again at her hips. He smelled lilacs, Faith. Hearing working just fine and now for touch and taste.. he leaned in closer, his lips grazing hers gently before Gunn put his hand on Wesley's shoulder. "English." 

Faith rued the day she ever met Charles Gunn with the two N's. She let go of the breath she hadn't even known she was holding. Wesley straightened up, smiling softly to her. 

"Yes Gunn?" 

"You guys want some cotton candy? It's on Angel." 

Faith's brows raised at that. Cotton candy. She licked her lips, looking for Angel. Spotting him, she made her way over. Those jean clad curvaceous hips began swayed as if to a song. She stopped mid-sway and turned on her heel. Again, crooking her finger to Wesley. You could describe him as an obedient puppy, Fred did. Wesley followed after her. 

"I want blue." Wesley called over Angel's shoulder. Faith inhaled, she could smell funnel cake, candied apples, cotton candy and even hot dogs. Had she been put on death row, that would have been her last meal. She nodded, deciding it so. Angel handed back two bags filled with cotton candy, Wesley and Faith walked over to the side as the other's waited for theirs. Faith pulled a big swirl of cotton candy off, her tongue lashing out to lick at it. As the cotton candy reached it's sticky sweet death, Wesley nearly dropped his. Faith looked up at him like he had gone retarded. 

Wesley saw the others heading their way and spoke up quickly, "I'd give life and limb to be that cotton candy at this moment." 

"So, you guys wanna go home.. ?" Angel began before Cordelia interrupted. 

"Psychic. Let's go get a reading!" 

Gunn chuckled, "You don't actually believe this, do you?" 

Fred, Cordelia, Angel and Wesley all looked over at him, brows raising in disbelief. 

"Well Lorne's a different story, these people just want money." 

Cordelia ate the cotton candy happily as she made her way over the the psychic. She smiled, looking over the sign in front of her tent. It read:

Palm Readings  
Past Life Regression  
Love Spells   
Madame Rose /> 

She peeked her head in under the tent, a darker room with a small table and two chairs, one which was being occupied by an older woman who was engrossed in a book that could be none other than a Harlequinn romance novel. Her mother used to read them constantly and would give them to Cordelia afterwards. In her opinion, they were absolutely horrible. The psychic placed her book down on the table as she smiled to Cordelia. "Please, come in and have a seat." Cordelia looked back to the group who would just have to wait patiently. Cordelia did as she was told, sitting across from the woman. 

"I am Madame Rose. What is it you have come for this evening? Tarot cards? Palm readings.. love spells?" Cordelia smirked, no love spells. 

"Uhm, how bout my palm read?" 

The psychic smiled, bringing Cordelia's hand closer to her face. Her brows raised slightly, she picked up the glasses that hung from a chain around her neck and put them on. 

"I see.. love." She began, this was of particular interest to Cordelia. 

"Mmm, yes love. He is tall, bad hair and foreign." She rubbed the girls hand gently, smoothing her thumb over the lines of her hand. 

"You wanted to be famous and you will be, but not like you want to be. In books my dear, in books." She dropped Cordelia's hand and looked up to her face, removing her glasses. "My child, you know deep down who he is." With that, she fell silent. 

"What?" Cordelia asked. "Yoohoo, Madame Rose.. " She said, waving her hand in front of the woman's face. The psychic still remained silent, watching the girl walk out to her friends. 

"How was she?" Fred's question filled with hope, she'd go in next if it was worthy. 

"I.. uhm.." Cordelia looked back over her shoulder at the tent, bewilderment clearly written across her face. 

"Cordy?" Angel asked, stepping closer to her. 

"Everything was fine, then all of a sudden she got weird. She said 'You should know..' .. What does that mean?" Angel looked over her shoulder to the tent, his eyes narrowed slightly. He stepped around Cordelia, walking over and inside the tent. He sat down in front of Madame Rose, she became animated. 

"Ahh, Mr. Tall, bad hair and foreign. What can I help you with?" 

Angel's hands immediately went to his hair, it wasn't bad - was it? He frowned slightly, then remembered his reason for being there. "What did you tell her?" 

"Only what her palms said. What can I do for you Mr. Tall, bad hair and foreign?" 

"Stop calling me that for one." He looked over her, she wasn't about to crack.. he placed his hand face up in front of her. Smiling, she looked down at his palm. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Faith and Wesley stood closely together. So close in fact, their shoulders bumped against each other. Wesley's hand snuck up to Faith's, rubbing his thumb against the palm of her hand. She tried to pay attention to the situation at hand.. hand, her hand was in his. 

Evil Faith popped up on her left shoulder, "You could be holding much more than his hand in your hand yanno.. " She began before Good Faith chastised her for her lewd conduct. "Don't listen to her.. even if she is right." 

Faith's head turned from left to right and back to left again, it was almost like a tennis match. "Tell him you dig the bookworm look. How he used to get you all hot and bothered." Good Faith clamped a hand over her mouth, she had just said something.. naughty. Evil Faith was doubled over in laughter, giving the thumbs up. 

Faith cringed, this was getting ridiculous. She left prison only to be sent to an asylum for mental patients. "Will you two stop it?" She said, very loudly at that. Everyone's attention turned to her. 

"I, uhm.. " She smiled, backing away slightly. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Angel's face was unreadable as he stepped outside the tent. He stopped just outside the tent. Cordelia's head tilted slightly, now she was curious. "Angel?" 

He remained quiet as he stood there, looking over the group in front of him. He shook his head, willing the information to draw forth from his lips. He was speechless, no words to describe it. He opened his mouth, not sure what to say or even how to go about saying it.. so he pointed back to the tent with his thumb. "I.." 

The group had come in closer, Cordelia walking up to Angel. She placed a hand tentatively on his arm as he looked down into her eyes. "I got a door prize." 

A wave of relief hit the group as they visibly relaxed. "What'd ya get Angel?" Fred asked softly. 

Angel looked like he was still having a problem expressing himself, his head had tilted slightly and he started to laugh. Yep, a hearty laugh. He placed his arm around Cordelia and said, "Well, I got a soul." 

Dumbfounded, all of them. "I thought you already had a soul?" Faith asked. 

"I.." He started again, "It's mine. To keep. I told you there were gypsies at carnivals." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Drusilla stepped out from behind Madame Rose, running her fingertips over her chin. "Miss Edith likes you.. You did so good." A smile slipping to her opaque lips as she continued to run her fingertips over the psychic's face gently. 

Dun dun dun.. Will Angel find out about Drusilla's trick before it's too late?  
Will Faith stop having conversations with her shoulders?   
And the most important ... will Bob survive longer then three days?

Find out on the next edition of "Gotta Have Faith!" 


	5. Trading in Martinis for Bottles

Everyone stared in awe at Angel, whom proudly beamed. He.. his soul was his to keep. Feeling a bit awkward just standing there and staring, Faith spoke up. "So does that mean you're gonna buy more cotton candy?" Angel looked over to her, chuckling. Wesley's mouth, which had previously hung open, finally closed. Angel, with his soul permanently anchored. That.. was good. Right? 

"You can have all the cotton candy you want. She said I have bad hair, do I have bad hair?" Everyone except Cordelia looked elsewhere, Wesley found the top of the ferris wheel of particular interest while Fred stared down at her fish. This left Faith to stare at her boots with disinterest and Gunn looking first to the right, not finding anything there, he looked over to the concession stand. 

"What did you say?" Cordelia asked, her face paling. 

"Come along Faith, I shall buy you some more cotton candy." Wesley smiled to the girl, offering an arm out to her. She gladly accepted, a girl's gotta eat. Gunn and Fred stared just a moment longer, staring at each other like a deer caught in headlights. Cordy told them what the psychic had said while Angel was in with her. 

"Yeah, she said I have bad hair and I'm tall. Tall could be a compliment, right?" His brows raised slightly, questioningly. 

Gunn needed to only say Fred's name and they were racing over to where Faith and Wesley now stood. Wesley watched as Faith licked out at piece after piece of cotton candy, his body beginning to ache with a ravenous lust. 

"Wesley, you look hungry." Fred smiled. Gunn chuckled loudly. 

"I am." He tore his eyes from Faith to see the mocking smirk of Gunn. "Not a word." 

"Hey dog, it's all good." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Drusilla slipped her fingertips through Rose's hair, her once playful smile turning more.. deadly. The psychic was terrified to even move as she looked over the ridges on Drusilla's face. 

"Miss Edith says you're going to tell my Angel the truth. That's naughty, very very naughty." Finished explaining, she leaned down and bit into Rose's flesh. Draining her blood, her life force from her. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Faith, I know you don't have much as far as clothing goes. You want to go out shopping tomorrow? We'll get Cordy to come along and make a day of it." Fred asked as she looked over Faith's outfit and Wesley's jacket among other things. 

"I.. okay." She hadn't really planned on accepting the offer, but Fred was being nice to her and she did hold a soft spot for her. That and she did need clothes. She had only few outfits with her and was not so sure she wanted to launch back into wearing full on leather. She smiled gladly, "I definitely need some new boots." 

Wesley's eyes shifted down to her boots, why hadn't he noticed that? Maybe because they looked fine, a few scoffs on to top more than likely due to a bit of arse kicking.. he should have gotten her a new pair of boots instead of the arm blades. Although.. she was quite excited with the arm blades. 

Faith could feel a certain someone's blue orbs shift up over her body. Trying not to feel self conscious about herself, she ran her fingertips through her hair.. obviously forgetting the pink cotton candy left on her fingers. "Ugh.. " 

"I can't believe his soul in anchored." Wesley said, finally looking over to Gunn. 

As Wesley and Gunn engaged in conversation, Fred helped Faith pick cotton candy out of her hair, both the girls giggling as they pulled it loose along with a few strands of hair. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Cordelia smiled gently, Angel had his soul back.. which meant he could enjoy extra curricular activities without going all crazy on her. Her fingertips danced their way up his arm and shoulder to his neck, she hesitated for a moment.. which gave Angel the incentive to lean down, capturing her lips with his own. Her arms slipped around his neck, holding him against her body. Angel's hand slid down to the small of her back, he pulled back slightly to look at her. She whimpered softly as his lips left hers. Well, maybe it was going to be a good night after all.. he's in control of his soul and Cordelia is in his arms, whimpering to be kissed. He was counting his lucky stars. 

"Mine." He whispered to her, effectively sending shivers up and down her spine. 

Gunn made his way over before any more smooching commenced. "We're gonna head back... " 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
As they walked back to the hotel, there was a quiet calm among the group.. all except for Fred who was excitedly discussing her plans for Bob with Gunn. She planned the most elaborate paradise for such a tiny fish. But Bob was certainly a welcomed guest in the hotel, they'd never had a pet before. 

Faith and Wesley walked closely together, their shoulders once again rubbing against each other as they took each step. Faith tried her hardest to keep her eyes on the ground as she reached her hand over, hooking her pinky finger around Wesley's. He gladly welcomed it, holding on with his own pinky as a smile tugged the corners of his lips upward. Good Faith and Evil Faith were now standing on the same shoulder, twirling each other about.. those damn vixens! 

Angel and Cordelia were last to step into the hotel. 

Fred nearly launched herself up the stairs in search of a habitat for Bob. Gunn followed up, lugging the giant stuffed rabbit which felt like it was becoming heavier as the minutes wore on. 

"I'll go check on the baby." Angel said, dragging Cordelia with him as he was not ready to let go of her hand yet. 

"Caveman much?" Cordelia started to protest, but followed him up to the second floor just the same. As they stepped into the room, Lorne stood up smiling. 

"How was the fair kiddies?" 

"Interesting..." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Faith shrugged out of Wesley's jacket, handing it to him. Her voice soft, "Thank you." 

"You're welcome. Did you enjoy yourself this evening?" 

"Are you kidding? Shit yeah." 

He flinched at her use of profane language, he supposed he never really would accept it. She could express herself without sounding like a criminal.. like what she really is. He sighed as his thoughts lead back to the fact that she was a criminal. 

By this time, Faith had began pacing back and forth like a caged animal. The Faith twins were wreaking havoc on her mind and .. everyone else had gone upstairs, leaving the two of them alone. She stopped, what did she have to be nervous about? Chastising herself, she took a seat on the third step from the bottom on the staircase. Her eyes lifting to meet with Wesley's.. 

"Did you?" 

"Indeed. Tonight is the first night we've been able to get away for the evening and enjoy ourselves. It doesn't happen too often." 

"Hey Wes, can I ask you a couple questions without you giving me that annoyed stuffy watcher look?" 

"I suppose.. " 

"Do you like working with Angel better than the Watcher's Council?" 

"I've asked myself that very same questions more than once and with the Council I didn't have a family. I mean I had my family, but not one such as this. We're close knit." 

"Good answer, moving along. Do you think I'm ready?" 

"Ready for.. ?" 

"Slaying, living on the outside, everything." 

"I'm quite sure you'll adjust fine to living on the outside world again. You did mention you stayed in shape while in prison, so that can't hurt your chances for continuing slaying. I would rather you consider working with our team instead of slaying solo." 

She nodded her head softly, slaying solo - isn't that how it always was? Watchers, well did just that - watch. Whenever Wesley came along, he was more of a nuisance than help. She had to save his hide on more than one occasion. 

"Would you train with me?" She asked, suddenly feeling very unsure of herself as she watched his face, surprise showing through. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I mean, I can always ask Angel and all.. " 

"No, you don't have to do that. I'd be more than happy to train with you." 

The thought of Angel's body brushing up against Faith's body suddenly made him ill, they were better matched at sparring then she and himself. Cordelia wouldn't be too happy with the situation either. 

She smiled quickly before asking her last question. "Cool. And for my last question - how are you people able to pay your bills? I mean, do you have other jobs?" 

Wesley chuckled, "No. We're on a payroll, just another reason you should consider joining us. I assume Angel has invited you to stay in the hotel as long as you like, correct?" 

"Yep." 

"Well, with no rent to pay.. you would have money to buy whatever your heart desires." 

"Boots. Need new boots." 

"Is that all?" 

"Nope." Smirking, she stood up. "What about you?" 

"What about me?" He asked, walking over to her.. she couldn't be heading to bed already. He had to stall her. 

"What is it that you desire? Isn't there some kind of ancient book you want or something equally boring?" 

His eyes shifted over the curves of her body slowly.. first down, then back up. When their eyes met, that oh so dangerous smile rode her lips. He removed his glasses, "Yes.. there is something I desire." He grinned, his features devilishly handsome as he did so. "A new coffee maker." 

She let go of the breath she was holding, 'Damn him! I can play this game just as well as he can..' She sat back down on the step, her eyes shifting up over his form. Good Faith popped up on her left shoulder, "When did Wesley get all muscle man?" Evil Faith laughing as she climbed out of Good Faith's shadow. "He's so not muscle man." 

"Is too, well he's fit." 

Faith blinked, hoping that would send away the Bopsy twins. She would test the waters a bit, sliding her tongue out over her lips. The velvety pink leaving a glistening trail across her lips that Wesley would like to taste very much. Instead he leaned down, running his fingertip under the satin black bra strap that hung out past her tank top. 

"So.. just a coffee maker?" She was determined to hear her name. 

"Among other things." 

"Like?" 

"Like.. is there a reason you want to know so badly?" 

"Well duh!" 

He chuckled, his fingertips slipping to her knees. Suddenly, her skin was tingling beneath his touch. With his hands, he parted her knees. Kneeling on the stairs between her legs, he took his chance. His fingers slipping up to her face and pulling her closer. He leaned forward, rubbing his nose gently against her. He was teasing her, he knew what she wanted just as well as she did. Her mind racing, she tried to move past his teasing and kiss him.. but he moved back, he was determined to be in charge. In all honesty, this only further excited her. She's never been in a situation where she was the less dominant, the submissive. 

Just as Faith's fingers tangled in Wesley's shirt to tug him closer, Lorne made it loud and clear he would be going down the stairs. He could feel vibes radiating off them all the way upstairs. "I'll grab the baby a bottle." 

Wesley's eyes shifted from Faith's face up to Lorne, who was now standing behind Faith. She looked up and smiled. "Hi." 

"Hi Sugar Baby." 

Wesley released her face immediately and stood up, nodding to Lorne. 

Faith smiled sheepishly, she remained on the stairs. Siding one leg over the other, she looked down to the lobby floor. 

"So, how was the carnival?" 

"Good." Wesley replied, a bit short. 

"Real nice." Faith answered, watching Wesley as he headed towards his office. 

"Carnivals are just too scary for me pudding. Those carnies.. they give me the heebie jeebies." Lorne shook himself, he walked down the rest of the stairs and turned around to face her. "I traded in baby bottles for martinis.. " He sighed sadly, Caritas needed to make a comeback (for the third time). He walked over to the kitchen, steeling himself for the chore of making a bottle. 

Faith quickly stood up, making her way to Wesley's office. Her lips fevered from thoughts of what almost happened. He was wearing his jacket and held a motorcycle helmet in one hand. 

"You're leaving?" 

"Well, I do have to be heading home." He could see the disappointment in her eyes, which made him feel good. She didn't want him to go. He smirked, "Tomorrow's another day Faith." He walked over to her, kissing her forehead gently before walking past her. "Good night." 

"Yeah.. good night." She said lamely. 'Bastard!' 

TBC - Does Bob have super powers? (Think about it, he's survived the walk home.)  
Will there be a Caritas 3?  
Stay tuned.. 


	6. Bob II

A soft knock on Faith's door jolted her awake. Mumbling, she lazily opened her eyes. "What the fuck do you want?" She pushed herself up and turned onto her back, successfully entangling her legs within the pink sheets. It always came back to those damn pink sheets! Faith's attitude was far from Suzy Sunshine when it came to waking up before noon. 

"Uhm Faith? Cordelia sent me up here to wake you up.. ya know, to shop." Fred's meek voice spoke through the door, she hadn't dared to make a move to open the door. 

"Oh, sorry Fred. Yeah, I'll be down in a few, gimme a chance to wake up and get dressed." Yanking at the pink sheets at the same time she made her move to get off the bed resulted in her falling flat on the floor. "Ooof." She pulled her hand from the floor, trying to shake the pain away. 

"You okay in there?" 

"Fine." She said a bit gruffly, nearly shredding the sheet as she pulled it from her legs. Fred decided to leave it alone and headed back downstairs, reporting the information back to Cordelia. Standing up, she headed towards the bathroom. She placed her hands onto the rim of the sink and stared in the mirror at her own reflection. She did that more and more frequently, looking at herself in the mirror. Until recently, she was not okay with what she saw staring back at her. Why did she always create problems for herself.. ? For the people around.. ? Shaking her head with disgust, she looked down into the sink. 

She picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste, applying it to the brush. "Everyone wants pearly whites." She said to herself, nearly jamming the toothbrush into her mouth.. once again in disgust. She began brushing the teeth on the left side of her mouth first, tilting her head as she looked up at the mirror once again. 

"I'm Faith." 

"You can't do that. Because it's wrong." 

"It's wrong." 

Now she couldn't even look at herself. Her thoughts led back to the time she had switched bodies with Buffy and stood in Buffy's bathroom with Buffy's body and spoke with Buffy's voice. She had hurt and wronged so many people. She stopped herself from thinking anything further, the past is.. well, the past. She was in control of herself now. Tears. They seemed to come so easily now, slipping down her cheeks to fall against her nightshirt. Images flashing through her mind of anything horrible she had done to these people.. these people who only tried to reach out to her. Dropping her toothbrush, her fist clenched and slammed into the mirror. The mirror broke into pieces, but none fell to the sink or counter, the pieces remained broken, in their shell. Just like she was. She was a monster and deep down they all knew it. 

Evil Faith stood with her arms crossed. "So why fight it? Why not have a little fun?" 

Faith ignored the voice as she stepped out of her bathroom and back into her room. She didn't feel like leaving the room, to be honest she didn't feel like leaving the bed. As she made her way over to the dresser, she pulled her hair lazily up into a bun. A couple curls came loose, falling underneath the bun. Leaning down, she pulled a pair of gray sweatpants out of the drawer. Yep, it felt like one of those days. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Cordelia sat on the red round lounger, reading over the latest issue of Cosmopolitan. Fred thumped her fingertips against the glass aquarium known as home to Bob. He swam around happily or at least what could be thought of as happily for a goldfish. 

"I bet he could learn tricks." 

Cordelia snorted, looking up from her magazine. "You can't teach a fish tricks." 

Faith walked down the stairs quietly, a solemn look on her face. She crossed her arms, almost hugging herself as she stopped at the bottom of the steps. 

"Heading to the gym?" 

"No." She replied as shortly and quietly as possible. 

"You're wearing that to go shopping?" Cordelia's voice had shown as much approval as her face did - none. 

Faith nodded, she wasn't exactly up for conversation this morning and it seemed to eminate off of her. 

"Alright.. since Angel's sleeping I am sure he won't mind us taking his car.. " Cordelia began but before she had finished Angel stood in the lobby. 

"A ha, taking his what? Car?" His arms crossed, brows arching as he stared at her. 

"How the hell.. ?" She stood up, a slight tilt of the head as she prepared herself to be cute. "Car, yes. We can't just walk. Please Angel. I'll treat it as if it were my own." 

Angel's demeanor didn't change, "And you think that's gonna make me want to loan it out to you?" 

"Angel.." And the pouting began. 

Fred and Faith had made their way over to the door, waiting for Angel to cave - which they both knew wouldn't be too long. The door opened behind them and Wesley stepped just inside the door frame, wondering what they were so engrossed in that they hadn't even notice him come in. He leaned his head between them and said, "Good morning ladies. What are we watching?" 

After they were over the initial surprise, Fred turned and explained the situation. Cordy wanted the car, Angel didn't want to give in. Wesley nodded as he listened or pretended to listen, his eyes shifted over to Faith. His concern growing as he looked over her. She seemed depressed, her body tensed as he poked her in her side. "And Faith, how are you this morning?" 

"Fine." She hadn't even looked at him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. 

"Are you certain?" His voice.. she sighed softly. 

"I'm fine. Doesn't anyone ever get that in this place? Fine." She nearly bit his head off before stomping out of the hotel. This drew the attention of Angel and Cordy who stopped bickering immediately. 

"Is she okay?" 

"She's probably mad that we have to walk because you are being .. a geek!" Cordelia said, crossing her arms. 

Sighing, Angel held out the keyring, letting it hang on the tip of his index finger. "She's not mad because you have to walk and since when did I become a geek?" Cordelia happily snatched the keys from his hand, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Angel sat in front of the computer, hands raised slightly above the keyboard. "Come on.. " He was becoming agitated with the error messages he kept receiving. The thing is, he isn't exactly computer illiterate, but Cordy and Fred were so much better on the machine then he was. 

With the exception of Angel's banging on the keyboard, Angel Investigations was completely quiet. That almost never happened and when it did - something bad surely followed the silence. And on this sunny day in the City of Angels, it certainly did. Gunn came bouncing down the steps with a book he had been ready to show Wesley when he walked over to the fish tank. Bob the loyal goldfish was floating at the top of the aquarium on his side. 

"Aww shit." 

"Yo, Bob is dead." That's right - the profane language was from Angel, not Gunn. 

Angel looked up from the computer, not realizing he had spoken out loud. His brows raised. "Who?" 

"Bob, the fish. Fred's fish." 

Angel stood up, smoothing his hands down over his stomach. He had never been stuck in this situation before - he's killed fish before, but never .. grieved one? Leaning his elbow against the counter top, he rested his hand on his mouth. 

"What should we do?" 

"Hey Wes! Come here!" 

Wesley placed the book he had been reading down gently onto his desk and stood up. "Gunn?" He asked, making his way towards the lobby. "What is the matter?" 

Gunn simply pointed at the fish. "I see. This is going to upset Fred extremely, isn't it? Oh dear.. " 

"Do they sell goldfish at the pet store?" Gunn asked as he made his way towards the door. 

"Gunn, what should we do with him?" 

"I dunno, flush him." And with that, he stepped out into the pinkish orange of dusk. He was a man in search of a goldfish. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Cordelia held the shirt up against her body as she stared in the mirror. Faith smirked, "That would look horrible on you.. " Grabbing it from her hands, she held it up to herself and tilted her head. "Me on the other hand.. " 

"Heh, yeah right." Cordy tried to grab the shirt back from her before Faith wandered off in the other direction. 

Fred in the meantime, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her gaze went over the clothes quickly, everything was either sexy or pink. She smiled as she saw a row of fuzzy sweaters, all solid colors. 

"What the fuck is with all this naughty shit?" 

Both Cordelia and Fred looked up, guilt washing over them both. Faith held up a shirt for them to read, 'naughty' was most definitely on it. 

"I mean, who wants to wear something that says 'Sexy' or 'Princess' .. ? I'm not sexy enough for you that I feel the need to spell it out on my clothing? Just like prison, when they make you wear that orange jumper, it has your numbers on it. Isn't it already obvious why I am wearing the orange jumper?" She shook her head with disappointment and moved on to look at other shirts, picking up a long sleeved button down. The shirt's design was after a vintage wallpaper, it had roses on it and.. damn her, she liked it. Finding her size, she pulled it off the rack and slung it with her stuff to try on. "Maybe it's to feed into your princess complex." 

"First off, I do not have a princess complex. And just why do they make the jumpsuits orange? It's more than obvious why you're wearing them - duh. Oooo." She said as she picked up a navy blue top, it had a stretch squareneck tie-back with flowy waterfall sleeves. She had one or two things like it, but this particularly caught her eye. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
Wesley and Angel stood in the bathroom, hovering over the toilet with Bob in a fishnet. Both staring guiltily at his dead body. Wesley waited patiently for Angel to drop the body into the toilet. 

"Say something." 

"Pardon me?" 

"Say something, it's his funeral." 

Wesley looked over at Angel, annoyance clearly written across his face. Giving in, he sighed and began. "Bob was a.. happy little fish. Please make sure he crosses over to your side safely.. may God rest his soul." 

Angel nodded, smiling he emptied Bob into the toilet. "He was a good fish." 

Wesley rolled his eyes. "You've all gone mad." 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
The three girls were done looking and had moved their conversation, which had gained many estranged looks from other customers, into the dressing rooms. Each had their own pile of clothes to try on. 

Faith was currently shaking her booty in the mirror, she wore black pinstripe ottoman pants. She crouched down to the floor, testing the elasticity of the pants. She needed something she could easily dust vamps in, while not looking like she has no fashion sense whatsoever. She pulled a light gray sweater knit halter over her head. A smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "So what's the deal with you and Angel?" 

"There is no deal with me and Angel. We're best friends, why?" Cordelia called over the divider as she also twirled about in front of the mirror. She wore a black sleeveless caviar beaded cowl neck top. "I like this." 

"Uhm maybe because ya'll are all over each other?" Fred piped up finally. More of a simple kind of gal, she had a nice pair of faded jeans on, with a short sleeve johnny collar banded bottom top on.

"We are so not all over each other!" Cordelia screamed as she pulled the top over her head. This made both Faith and Fred laugh, which made Cordelia really think about the last couple of days, "Are we?"

"Yes!" The two girls shouted in unison. 

Faith tried on the jacket she picked up just outside of the dressing rooms. Regardless of what people thought, Los Angeles did get cold during the winter months. Faith rubbed her hands down over the suede and back up to the faux fur trimming around the neck, this jacket was heaven. The faux fur lined both cuffs, the neck and even the bottom of the jacket. She flung her arm forward, a stake flying into her hand. Nodding, she put that in the "must have" pile. So far she had three pairs of jeans, four tops and a jacket. Her brows furrowed slightly as she tried to think of what was missing - bras, undies and socks. "Mom always said you can never have enough bras, socks and undies." She said to herself before frowning slightly. 

Cordelia stood in front of the mirror, all her items in the 'must have' pile - all except for the dress she was wearing now. She turned to the side, inspecting the dress and how it clung to her body. It was a black, one shoulder side cinch matte jersey dress. "I wonder what Angel would say if he seen me in this.." Her brows arched devilishly. "Yep, must have."

As each girl finished trying on clothes, they discarded the ones they didn't want and continued to the register. A blonde sat behind the counter gabbing to her coworker as they arrived, sighing with annoyance that yet another customer wanted her to wait on them, she began ringing the items up. Her coworker folded each item neatly, placing them in bags which bore the store's name. 

Cordelia remembering the conversation earlier looked to Faith, "So what's the deal with you and Wesley?" It was her turn to smirk as Faith opened her mouth to speak, nothing logically popping into her head. 

"Uh, I - Watcher!"

"Watch what?" Now the blonde engrossed herself in the conversation, which was a bit rude... but watcher sounded so kinky. Faith's eyes shifted over to the cashier, if looks could kill - the cashier's head would have exploded. She even indulged in the thought of it. 

  
----- ---- ----- 

  
Gunn returned with a bag full of goldfish. Angel and Wesley stood in front of the aquarium, had been waiting for his return since flushing Bob. 

"Uh, there was only one fish in the tank." 

"These are back ups. I figured since the average lifespan of a goldfish is two days.." 

"Actually, it's six to eight years if properly cared for." 

"Thank you Mr. Wizard." Gunn opened the bag up, attempting to catch one of the fish. 

Angel smirked, heading back around the counter to the computer he had vacated earlier. He was determined to get the information he was searching for. 

"Only trying to be informative, no need to be snide." Wesley also returned to the task at hand, before he took time out of his schedule to give an elegy to a dead fish. Some people would never fully appreciate his capacity of knowledge. Slipping back into his office, he looked over the book - a diary, a watcher's diary. He needed to know if Angel's truly did regain his soul before anything.. bad happened. 

  
----- ---- -----   


Cordelia handed the cashier a credit card. Faith felt a little guilty about her paying for everything, but she was assured it was in fact the company's. Which made the cashier look at her skeptically, asking for identification. Cordelia gladly produced it, looking back over to Faith, "Well?" 

"I, he. We." She stopped, trying to keep the smirk that threatened to dimple her cheeks from happening. "I wouldn't mind calling him my old man." She shrugged, that said enough for her. 

Fred smiled, looking over Cordelia's shoulder. "That was said perfectly." 

Cordy scribbled her signature on the receipt, taking her copy of it and grabbed a couple bags. "Where to next?" 

"I need some underwear and socks." Faith beamed proudly. 

The blonde cashier watched them leave, turning to her coworker to discuss each girl's flaw. 

Fred sat in the back, while Faith rode shotgun. Faith clicked the seatbelt pieces together, now she knew why Fred insisted she sat in the backseat. 'Damn her!' Cordelia didn't take notice to either girl's winces as she almost slammed into the car in front of her. 

"Queen C, I know slayers usually die young - but that's from vamps and not a girl with a car, Angel's car." 

Cordelia looked over to her, dismissing her comment. As long as they got where they needed to go, that's what mattered. 

  
----- ----- ----- 

  
"Okay, this is a mouse. You move it around on the mouse pad. See how the arrow on the screen moves along with the mouse? Point to something you want to go to and push down on the left mouse key." Gunn said as he looked down at Angel, who now felt like an idiot and refused to move the mouse. 

"Look man. Move it or don't. You asked for my help." 

"I know, but you don't have to treat me like I'm five." Angel moved the mouse around, amazed that the arrow which had sat dormant in the upper right corner, now moved. He swung it around a few more times for good measure. "So what do I do if I want to go back?" 

Gunn pointed to the toolbar where an arrow pointed to the left. "Click on that." 

And he did. "Oh my god." 

Gunn smirked, patting him on the back. "See? You're getting the hang of this thing." 

Before they were able to continue any further, the trio of females walked in. Each carrying bags and some even carried boxes. Cordelia stopped in the middle of the room, dropping the bags in front of her. The others repeated her performance, Faith slipping off to peer in Wesley's office. 

As always, he was hard at work or at least he seemed to be. He stuck his tongue out, washing away the dryness on his lips from left to right, then back. Faith snuck in, slamming the door behind her, which brought his attention away from the book and over to her. He smiled, glad to see her in a better mood than this morning. "Get everything you needed?" 

"Mmm.. yeah. And then some. Look, I'm sorry about this morning. I was in a bad mood and I didn't mean to come off as a bitch." 

"Does shopping always put you in a good mood?" 

"Shopping equals therapy." She smirked, peeling her body from the door. Her hips did that swaying thing again, she was purposely trying to be sexy and to Wesley! She leaned down, her fingertips caressing his cheek. "I even got some unmentionables today. I'll tell you what, if you get bored with these books, you should come up and see them. Heck, I might even put your name on them." 

An odd statement, it did nothing other than arouse him. His name on her panties. "I do believe I'd like to see them now.. " He grabbed the hand that caressed his cheek, pulling her against the desk and had he pulled even harder, she would have been over the desk. He sought out her lips, crushing his own against them. Parting her lips, she lashed her tongue out against his lips. Tasting the salt of them.. 

A knock at the door interrupted them. Both silently cursing whomever knocked and each other. "Uhm, we can hear you." 

They looked from the door where Angel's silhouette still stood to each other, Faith breaking out in giggles as Wesley covered her mouth, trying not to laugh himself. He cleared his throat, "Sorry." 

"Eww." They could hear Cordelia squeal in the lobby. 


End file.
